Every year we get loud to give more deaf children the opportunity to listen and speak as equals alongside their hearing peers. This year due to the global Coronovirus pandemic we postponed Loud Shirt Day 2020 from June to October 23rd and it will now coincide with the event hosted by our Australian and New Zealand counterparts. On that day, we hope that you will wear your brightest clothes and get LOUD across the world to give more deaf children the opportunity to learn to listen and talk.
Loud Shirt Day is in support of the award-winning national charity Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) which helps deaf children learn to listen and talk. Many deaf children are still under-achieving at school, are at higher risk of isolation, bullying and social exclusion and have lower employment prospects. AVUK is transforming deaf children’s lives, with 80% of children who spend at least two years on our programme achieving age appropriate language.
Its estimated there are around 7,200 children under five in the UK with severe to profound hearing loss, and more than half leave primary school without reaching the expected standard in reading, writing or mathematics. Auditory Verbal UK is the only UK charity providing auditory verbal therapy to young deaf children and their families, helping them to speak, listen and learn.
The charity found that the majority of children who attended an Auditory Verbal therapy programme for at least two years performed as well or better in their Key Stage One exams as their typical hearing peers, and most attended mainstream schools.
Auditory Verbal therapy involves coaching parents in the skills and strategies to maximise their children’s language development through play and everyday interactions. This helps deaf children with hearing aids or cochlear implants to learn to listen and speak.
As well as working with families directly, Auditory Verbal UK is also committed to training health and education professionals to deliver Auditory Verbal therapy so that many more families will have the opportunity to access a programme close to where they live.
So don your brightest clothes and get LOUD with us to ensure more deaf babies and children will have the chance to learn to listen and talk and have the same opportunities as their hearing peers.
https://www.avuk.org/loud-shirt-day-uk